FanHouse Kasey Kahne

RICHMOND, Va. -- Kasey Kahne was not even born the last time his team owner, Richard Petty, hoisted a NASCAR championship trophy. Kahne was 4 years old the afternoon Petty won his last race -- the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 1984.

With Sunday's win at Atlanta, the 29-year-old Kahne has now hosted his Richard Petty Motorsports team namesake in victory circle twice this season. And for the first time in almost 25 years, "The King" at least has a shot to hold NASCAR's crown again.

Kahne will clinch a playoff berth Saturday night if drives the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge to a 21st place finish or better at Richmond International Raceway -- site of his first career Sprint Cup Series victory in 2005.

It's the first time in too long that Petty and championship have appeared in the same sentence without being a nostalgic reference to the good ol' days. Things are pretty good these days.

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HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) -- Four guys are in the Chase for the Championship. Ten others are sweating it out.

On to Richmond!

Kasey Kahne greatly improved his chances of making the season-ending Chase with a victory Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, pulling away from Kevin Harvick after a fortunate yellow flag late in the race.

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Where: Michigan Int'l Speedway
Time: Sunday 2PM ET
TV/Radio: ESPN, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Sunny, 91 degrees, 30% rain
Distance: 200 laps (400 miles)
Pole Winner: Brian Vickers
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

What was a bit of a snoozer to begin with at Chicagoland Speedway Saturday night ended in a fashion that was anything but.

In a three-lap sequence of events starting on lap 250 of the 267 lap race, the race lead switched three times between the guy who had dominated the second half of the race, a guy looking for his first win since 2006 and the guy who dominated the first half of the event.

And that's not even the beginning of how crazy the pack was just behind them, all thanks to NASCAR's recently-implemented double-file restart rules.

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It's that time of year again. Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway officially kicks off the "Race to the Chase," the 10-race stretch for a shot at the championship.

While there have been several surprises in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year, one of the biggest shocks as we close in on the Chase for the Sprint Cup is the absence of a clear-cut favorite for the championship. Last year's dominant teams at this time of the season were the 99 and 18, and the 24 and 48 in 2007, but we really don't have one in 2009, which bodes well for the sport.

Notes & Quotes comes flying at you this week from the sandy shores of the Gulf of Mexico. I hope you'll pardon my tardniness.

Infineon Win a Baby Step for Kasey Kahne at RPM

If you got a chance to read Holly Cain's piece on Kasey Kahne this week, you saw how excited the Washington driver was to be finally finding good equipment at Richard Petty Motorsports. According to Kahne, everything from bodies to engines are coming together at the right time for the team.

That's good news for Kahne fans, but it's even better for the folks running the show at RPM.

Holding off Tony Stewart on multiple late-race, double-file restarts on a road course may turn out to be the easier proposition for Sunday's race winner Kasey Kahne.

Capitalizing on the momentum from the victory and avoiding drama in the final days that set the Chase for the Championship 12-driver field ... that's another story.

Kahne said Tuesday he's up for the challenge.

"That might be one of the reasons I like racing ... all the pressure and the excitement,'' Kahne said. "I don't mind it, I enjoy trying to perform under pressure.''

Good thing.

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) -- Tony Stewart is off to such a strong first season as a team owner, he's already open to expansion.

The Sprint Cup Series points leader said Friday he'd consider adding a third team to Stewart-Haas Racing next year if the right combination was available. Although he promised his team not to expand too quickly, their success so far this season has made him consider his options.

"I wanted to make sure we had two cars that were competitive and had a chance to win a championship," he said Friday at Infineon Raceway. "I'm proud of the fact that I think we're at that point. So if the right situation came along, we would entertain it."

Where: Pocono Raceway
Time: Sunday 5:45 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: FOX Sports, PRN Radio
Twitter: In-race updates at FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 75 degrees, Partly Sunny
Distance: 200 laps (500 miles)
Pole Winner: Tony Stewart
2008 Winner: Kasey Kahne
Kyle Busch played his own version of Guitar Hero Saturday night at Nashville Superspeedway in Nationwide Series victory lane, and needless to say, his antics left a lot of people shaking their heads.

Since we're a little late on this week's edition of Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes, we're gonna do both a rewind of last weekend's festivities at Dover and a bit on Wednesday night's Prelude to the Dream. Capisce? Capisce.

Prelude to the Twitter - Can't be in or around the booming metropolis that is Rossburg, Oh., (Pop: 224) for Wednesday night's Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway? No problem, FH has you covered with live twittering from the fourth row up behind the start/finish line just for you! Follow us here: www.twitter.com/FanHouseRacing

Rain, for the love of Pete, go away - What happens when you invite 20-plus NASCAR drivers to compete in a charity race at a half-mile dirt oval? Well, they bring rain -- just as they have for three of the past four NASCAR event weekends.